Shloka 17
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
ततः सत्यवत: कायात् पाशबद्ध॑ वशं गतम् । अड्गुष्ठमात्रं पुरुषं निश्चकर्ष यमो बलात्,तदनन्तर यमराजने सत्यवानके शरीरसे पाशमें बँधे हुए अंगुष्ठमात्र परिमाणवाले विवश हुए जीवको बलपूर्वक खींचकर निकाला
tataḥ satyavataḥ kāyāt pāśabaddhaṁ vaśaṁ gatam | aṅguṣṭhamātraṁ puruṣaṁ niścakarṣa yamo balāt ||
Pagkaraan nito, si Yama ay marahas na humugot mula sa katawan ni Satyavān ng “Tao” na kasinlaki ng hinlalaki—ang nakagapos at walang magawang diwa ng buhay na nasilo sa kanyang lubid. Ipinamalas ng tagpong iyon ang mabagsik na kapangyarihan ng Kamatayan sa buhay na may katawan, habang inihahanda ang kabaligtarang aral: ang matatag na katuwiran at tapat na paninindigan na hahamon sa tila di-maiiwasang wakas.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vulnerability of embodied life before Death’s authority, setting up the ethical contrast where steadfast dharma and devoted resolve (as in the Sāvitrī narrative) confront and morally negotiate what seems inevitable.
Yama binds Satyavān with his noose and forcibly draws out the thumb-sized ‘puruṣa’—the life-principle/jīva—from Satyavān’s body, marking the moment of death and the beginning of the ensuing moral encounter.